Verse of the Day 8/26

Through the Bible - Psalms 131-133, 1 Corinthians 10:1-22

 

Good morning,

Yesterday I quoted the hymn "At Calvary" which starts out by saying "years I spent in vanity and pride".  The pursuit of "vanities" has been rampant in societies going back to Old Testament times.  Perhaps no one has written more thorough and thought provoking words on the subject than King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes.

 

A modern term for this pursuit could be "the rat race", its a race that no one wins, no one finds true satisfaction in the pursuit of things.  Its like chasing the wind.

 

Yesterday's "Daily Bread" devotional was in Ecclesiastes 2, stating, "King Solomon did another kind of chasing that couldn't bring him satisfaction (Eccl. 2:1). In the first 11 verses of Ecclesiastes 2 alone, he mentions that he chased after pleasure, laughter, wine, wisdom, houses, gardens, money, possessions, and music. But his evaluation was that "all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun" (2:11). Those pursuits were empty—"vanity of vanities" (1:2).

 

At the end of the passage the king writes,  "But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere."  Eccl. 2:11

For his conclusion on the matter and his advice to us we'll go to the end of that book, Ecclesiastes 12:13.

 

Eccl 12:13 That's the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.  NLT
What have you been chasing lately?  What or where has it gotten you?

 

Steve Green writes in his song "A Chasing of the Wind"

 

Every heart is filled with longing
To be free from all life's pain
Yet the search through earthly pleasures
Always ends in vain
Only God who made the heavens
Can satisfy our souls
Apart from Him and all His meaning
All things fail as they begin
And hearts deceived
Can only know
A chasing of the wind

 

Consider what "fearing God" means.  Consider the things that Paul tells us will last in 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.

 

1 Cor 13:13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.  NLT  Apply these thing in increasing measure and you'll see that was is accomplished will last.   It won't be a trivial or vain pursuit.

 

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV
Eccl 2:1-12

 

The Futility of Pleasure

 

2 I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?" 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.

 

4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

 

9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

 

Eccl 12:13 That's the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.  NLT